Does Organizing Mentor-Mentee Matches into Small Groups Enhance Treatment Effects in a Site-Based Mentoring Program for Adolescents? Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Formal youth mentoring is an effective intervention strategy for healthy development during adolescence. Modest and varied effects across programs, however, demonstrate a need to identify factors that can reliably improve outcomes for mentored youth. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to test the relative impact of embedding mentee-mentor matches in small groups on youth outcomes and to examine whether this effect was mediated by the quality of the program setting and mentoring relationship quality. Participants included 676 adolescents (Mage = 14.21, range = 11-18; 41.6% female) enrolled in Campus Connections, a site-based youth mentoring program. Most measured outcomes in both conditions (i.e., mentoring groups and a control condition in which pairs were not embedded in a group) were significantly better at post-intervention as compared to pre-intervention. The hypothesis that mentoring groups would have stronger impact, however, was not supported. The results imply that organizing mentor-mentee matches in small groups offer no advantage or disadvantage and that youth may be able to garner benefit from both structures.